An Evening In Conversation With Nick Matthew

Sheffield-born and bred Nick Matthew is the current squash World No.1, double World Champion and double Commonwealth Gold Medallist. A member of Hallamshire Squash Club in Sheffield, Nick won the 2010 World Open in a thrilling final against rival James Willstrop in a repeat of the Commonwealth Games final.

The Yorkshireman first made the headlines in 2006 when, seeded six, he clinched the British Open title to become the first home-grown winner of the world’s most prestigious event for 67 years. He went on to claim the world-famous trophy for a second time in 2009 . The triumph brought to a notable climax a twelve-month period in which the England number one battled back to top form on the PSA Tour after undergoing career-threatening shoulder surgery in January 2008.

Title triumphs in four successive 2010 events – the Swedish Open, North American Open, Canary Wharf Classic and Sky Open in Cairo– led to Matthew topping the world rankings for the first time in June. And he went on to win the next too, the Australian Open in Canberra.

Boosted by two Gold Medals in the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in October, Matthew went on to finish the year on a high – winning the World Open for the first time in Saudi Arabia, becoming the first Englishman to do so. Closing out the year by clinching the PSA Masters crown back in Delhi to ensure that Nick would start the New Year once again as the DUNLOP PSA World No.1, going on to be crowned 2010 PSA Player of the Year at an awards ceremony in New York.

Matthew held this number 1 spot for the whole calendar year in 2011, becoming World Champion for a second time - the 1st player to achieve back to back World titles since Pakistan’s Jansher Khan 15 years ago.